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June 2003
Vol. IX, No. 4
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Iraq: Moving Forward
Public security, transitional justice, the role of religious groups, and the UN's role in Iraq and elsewhere are just some of the issues being addressed by Institute experts.
First Steps Forward
Soon after the war, the Institute convened a panel to discuss the immediate steps that needed to be taken in Iraq. The April 16 panel, moderated by Daniel Serwer, director of peace operations, featured Rule of Law adviser Robert Perito and senior fellows Ray Jennings and Jonathan Tucker. Training Program director George Ward spoke by phone from Kuwait.
The panel agreed that security is the first priority. Perito advocated speedy supplements to military police on the ground, immediate international contributions of trained constabulary forces, and a commission to assist with rebuilding the judicial system. Security is critical to meeting humanitarian needs. Insecurity and fuel shortages are among hindrances to delivering relief, Ward warned.
Searching for weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and containment of WMD know-how are also priorities. The search will be difficult, said Tucker, who advocated internationalizing the ongoing investigation to increase the credibility of any findings. He also called for the establishment of an international science and technology center in Baghdad to employ former Iraqi weapons scientists and help prevent "brain drain" of WMD expertise to proliferators and terrorists.
Panelists cautioned the American administration to be careful about creating high expectations and to work to maintain the focus of the American public on key issues. Jennings stressed that a long-term commitment will ensure that Iraq is successfully rehabilitated and U.S. security and foreign policy goals are met.
Justice for All
Under the auspices of the U.S. State Department–supported Future of Iraq Project, a working group on transitional justice has been consulting since July 2002 with the Iraqi Jurists' Association (IJA) on a range of topics pertaining to post-war justice in Iraq. Composed primarily of former Iraqi judges and lawyers, the working group consulted extensively with international experts, including Institute experts on transitional justice, to produce a 300-page blueprint for action. On May 21, the Institute hosted a briefing to explore the findings.
Neil Kritz, a member of the working group and director of the Institute's Rule of Law Program, moderated the panel, which included working group and IJA chair Tariq Ali al-Saleh and members Reyahd Abdul Majeed al-Kabban, Abdul Mun'im al-Khatib, and Sermid D. al-Sarraf.
Three major areas for transitional justice were described.
- Prosecution of former officials and crimes against humanity must be thorough and open.
- The legal code must be reviewed and reformed to serve the people rather than the regime.
- A two-pronged education effort is necessary. Legal professionals need re-training. Public education is vital for citizens to understand their rights and responsibilities.
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Short-Term Steps Toward Long-Term Goals George Ward, director of the Training Program, returned from Iraq in late May after four months coordinating humanitarian assistance for the Pentagon's Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance. In an op-ed in the New York Times on June 13 he outlined the tasks ahead (excerpted below): Long-term goals in Iraq now are public security, a transition to a representative system of government, and the creation of a free-market economy. To achieve these goals, we need to take three short-term steps. First, every Iraqi police station should receive a small group of trained international advisers, armed and with power of arrest. Second, as soon as the oil industry begins turning a profit on exports, we should give every Iraqi family a monthly payment. This would instantly dispel the popular myth that the coalition's intent was to seize Iraq's oil assets. Third, pending the organization of an interim Iraqi government, coalition planners should help start grassroots-level dialogues on shaping the country's future in each of Iraq's 18 provinces. No democratic Iraqi government, however well conceived, will long survive unless it maintains popular support. |
Religion and the New Regime
What role will religion play in a new Iraq? Can there be reconciliation between Sunni and Shiite Muslims? What political agendas do various religious groups harbor?
A May 21 panel moderated by Religion and Peacemaking Program director David Smock considered these questions. The panelists included author Graham Fuller, senior fellow Faleh Abdul-Jabar, Iraq Foundation executive director Rend Rahim Francke, and Congressional Research Service staffer Kenneth Katzman.
Although Shiites are the religious majority (some 60 percent), they are not a homogenous community. The Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI) is the best organized and best funded group, with backing from Iran. Panelists cautioned that conclusions cannot yet be drawn about the level of support SCIRI or other Shiite Islamist groups have among ordinary Iraqis.
The Sunni are even less homogenous than the Shiites. They are ethnically divided among Arabs, Turkomen, and Kurds. Among Islamists, the Muslim Brotherhood has re-emerged, but its level of support and program are not yet clear.
Collaboration between Shiite and Sunni is uncertain. Islamist movements will generally not transcend ethnic and sectarian lines. As for a secular government, there is widespread misunderstanding of secularism as being anti-religious, rather than religiously neutral. Considering American interests in a secular and inclusive government, a special effort at education should be undertaken, said panelists.
The UN: Iraq and Beyond
   Top to bottom: Richard Williamson, Edward Luck, David Scheffer. |
In light of the UN Security Council's failure to reach consensus on how to deal with Saddam Hussein, there is considerable debate about what its role should be in future conflicts.
A May 14 panel on the UN's role in Iraq and elsewhere featured Richard Williamson, U.S. alternative representative to the United Nations, Special Political Affairs; Edward Luck, director of the Center on International Organization at Columbia University; and David Scheffer, senior vice president of the UN Association of the USA. The director of the Institute's Special Initiative on the Muslim World, Richard Kauzlarich, moderated the discussion.
Williamson noted that the process within the Security Council leading up to the war in Iraq demonstrated some of the "creaks and weaknesses of World War II institutions." The United States needs to engage the international community on ways to modernize these institutions.
Luck observed that the UN was "built on conflict, thrives on conflict," and has survived past crises. The real question, according to Luck, is what the UN's role will be in the future. He sees four underlying problems that cannot be solved by Security Council reform. They are problems that member states bring with them to the United Nations.
Member states are increasingly uncomfortable with tools of coercion, and particularly the use of force.
Member states are ambivalent about the asymmetry of power in the post–Cold War world.
There is a divergence of opinion about whether the Security Council should function as a collective security organization, or simply endorse the use of force by others as appropriate.
There are also differences on how legitimacy is defined and measured.
Scheffer concluded the session by recommending that the United Nations establish the proper authority for the continued military presence of the United States, United Kingdom, and others through new Security Council resolutions that would provide more flexibility in rebuilding Iraq.
Other Institute Resources:
- Post-War Iraq: The Immediate Imperatives
Event Summary - Religious Politics in Iraq
USIPeace Briefing - Establishing Justice and the Rule of Law in Iraq
Archived Audio
